M.Phil. / This research focuses on aspects of burnout amongst ministers of religion in the Dutch • Reformed Church ("NG Kerk") Synod of Southern Transvaal. Burnout is a common metaphor for a state of mental exhaustion, usually work-related. It is described as a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment that can occur among individuals who do 'people work' of some kind. Research literature describes the general symptomatology of the syndrome, its preconditions, as well as the domain in which it occurs. From the literature it becomes apparent that burnout is a persistent, negative, work-related state of mind in 'normal' individuals that is primarily characterised by exhaustion, which is accompanied by distress, a sense of reduced effectiveness, decreased motivation, and the development of dysfunctional attitudes and behaviours at work. This psychological condition develops gradually but may remain unnoticed for a long time by the individual involved. It results from a misfit between intentions and reality at the job. Often burnout is selfperpetuating because of inadequate coping strategies that are associated with the syndrome. The research design can be typified as exploratory, descriptive and quantitative. The central hypothesis of this study is that burnout is the product of specific factors in the person-work environment interaction of ministers in the Dutch Reformed Church. With the aim of the study in mind, the following research process was followed: A literature review as theoretical grounding for burnout in general, as well as the analysis of literature specifically on burnout amongst ministers of religion. The development of a questionnaire, based on the review of literature, as self-report measure for burnout amongst ministers. After a field investigation, with the questionnaire as a method of data collection (on two occasions, 20 months apart), the data were analysed, consolidated, displayed and interpreted. The consolidated data were also interpreted in the broader perspective of the theoretical framework and recommendations were made about aspects of burnout amongst ministers in the Dutch Reformed Church. Possible causes, negative outcomes, ways of coping, interventions and support were explicated. The most important findings on aspects of burnout amongst ministers of the Dutch Reformed Church, as shown in this study, are: low horizontal mobility, quantitative work overload, time pressure, negative personal experience of the work situation, a negative evaluation of training and the negative evaluation of personal well-being because of the work situation. It can be concluded that ministers of the Dutch Reformed Church are at risk of burnout, caused by unique stressors in their work environment.

M.A. / Prisons in the South African context are considered to be places of correction for deviant individuals. The perception of the functioning of a correctional space is the correction of a particular type of functioning and the construction of another. One of the underlying assumptions of a penal system is the notion of a subject who is able to undergo a process of normalisation. This dissertation is directed towards the exploration of a different type of space that has been created within the correctional system at the Diepkloof Prison. It will be suggested herein that creative workshops, run within the prison by an outside facilitator, have succeeded in subverting the normalising discourse of the penal system, and have helped to facilitate a different type of healing experience within the confines of the institutional space. In order to place the discussion of the workshopping process within a sound theoretical framework, various theoretical questions regarding the shift from modernist to postmodern psychology are explored in some depth. It will be argued that the ideas emerging from social constructionist and narrative psychology, deconstructionist notions of language and subjectivity, as well as post-structuralist ideas on disciplinary power, offer a theoretical framework from within which to understand the healing process that occurs in the workshops themselves.

M.A. / Modern health-care services in general hospital settings are often characterised by mUltidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches to patient care. The underlying rationale of these approaches lies in the potential pooling of specialised medical resources from a variety of medical fields. Consequently there is usually an increase in the diagnostic procedures available, theoretically offering a more comprehensive health service. Whilst the above approach is seen to be effective when the health-car~ team specialists subscribe to one encompassing paradigm, it is hypothesised that the existence of other alternative paradigms may affect the efficacy of team work. Using the interface between the Psychology and Renal units of J.G. Strijdom Hospital as an example, this study describes the effect of paradigmatic differences within a team approach on the conceptualisation of problems and treatment choices. The traditional medical approach is contrasted against a systems based psychological approach. The existence of the two approaches within a single team encounters difficulty in the gaining of consensus regarding the level of focus.

M.A. (Psychology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

A research project submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MA by coursework and Research Report in the field of Industrial Psychology in the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg July 2017 / Workplace bullying is an unfortunate occurrence within organisations and has become a prevalent area of interest. However, research on workplace bullying and specifically its effect on work engagement within a South African context is rare. Additionally, research on the relationship between workplace bullying and personality traits is limited to the Big Five personality traits. This research thus broadened its range from the Big Five personality traits and focused on neuroticism, assertiveness, optimism, pessimism and hardiness. The research further assessed the moderating effect of personality on the relationship between workplace bullying and work engagement. The sample consisted of 200 white collar employees over the age of 18 that was obtained using a volunteer, snowball sampling method. The responses were obtained using survey methodology, which led to the cross-sectional nature of the study. Analyses of results were completed using a Pearson’s product moment correlation analysis and a moderated multiple regression analysis. The results from the Pearson’s product moment correlation mainly supported the hypotheses, however there were findings that countered the hypotheses, mainly assertiveness as this proved to be the most unexpected finding. The results from the moderated multiple regression showed that only neuroticism and pessimism moderated the relationship between workplace bullying and work engagement as opposed to assertiveness, optimism and hardiness that did not. The findings of this research thus contribute to the limited body of South African research investigating different personality types moderating the relationship between workplace bullying and work engagement. / XL2018

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This research proposes to identify and evaluate intercultural perceptions and the promotion of black managers within the South African context from a qualitative perspective. A literature review is presented, which covers aspects of perception, culture, the self, and promotion. Cultural categories are analysed to identify relationships not considered in the literature. An interview questionnaire based on Osherson (1980) is constructed, which leads respondents through five areas: demographic characteristics, work identity, value system, cultural identity, and intercultural perceptions and promotion. Three case studies are analysed, the themes for each interview being integrated. Conclusions regarding possible new analytical categories, and recommendations in the form of a possible outline for future research, are presented . / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.Com (Industrial Psychology)

M.A. / The present study explores the effect of social positioning, as manifested in relationship, in shaping personal narratives. Four homosexual men shared aspects of their personal narratives, particularly their experiences of self as a consequence of relationship. The narratives unfold in a setting of marginality, in that homosexuality is regarded as an illegitimate identity within the mainstream contexts of these men. One tape-recorded conversation of an hour and a half was held with each of the participants in the study. The conversation was guided by in-depth considerations of marginality, separation, belonging and the consequences of these. The narratives suggest that these men's sense of self is influenced by how they are addressed by others, demonstrating that relationship is the matrix from which people are socially positioned and from which their narratives of self emerge. Suggestions around alternative resources in accounting for the ontological within psychology include regarding relationship, language and social position as influencing what does manifest as a person's inner world. In order to counteract the tyranny of "normality" perpetuated within the social sciences, normality should be reformulated as a socially prescribed template of being. In terms of marginality, this study implies that marginality is a social process which emanates when a person interacts with people removed from his or her social context. It is a discourse which lacks expansion and focuses predominately on separation and belonging and nuances these. The discourse thereby suggests that marginality is not the function of an overtly disempowered identity vis-à-vis the mainstream, but a function of the discourses which emanate from interaction across dissimilar contexts.

D.Phil. / This study investigates the management of burnout among ministers of religion in the Dutch Reformed Church ("NG Kerk") Synod of Southern Transvaal. Burnout is a common metaphor for a state of mental exhaustion, usually work-related. The traditional, and most frequently used definition describes burnout as "a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment that can occur among individuals who do 'people work' of some kind" (Maslach & Jackson, 1986: 1). Research literature describes the general symptomatology of the syndrome, its preconditions, and the domain in which it occurs. From the literature it becomes apparent that burnout is a persistent, negative, work-related state of mind in 'normal' individuals that is primarily characterised by exhaustion, which is accompanied by distress, a sense of reduced effectiveness, decreased motivation, and the development of dysfunctional attitudes and behaviours at work. This psychological condition develops gradually but may remain unnoticed for a long time by the individual involved. Often burnout is self-perpetuating because of inadequate coping strategies associated with the syndrome. The more recent multidimensional theory describes burnout as an individual's stress experience embedded in a context of social relationships involving the person's conception of both the self and others. According to this view burnout is a psychological syndrome of emotional exhaustion (stress component), depersonalization (otherevaluation component), and reduced personal accomplishment (self-evaluation component), the product of a major mismatch between the nature of the job and of the person who does the job, and the index of the dislocation between what people are and what they have to do. Six areas of organizational life are identified which can cause the imbalance, mismatch or misfit between the person and work: Workload, control, reward, sense of community, fairness and values. According to the multidimensional view burnout is also seen as a syndrome of exhaustion, negativity, hostility, cynicism and distance, and inefficiency on one side of a continuum, while the opposite and positive side of the continuum is represented by a state of engagement, characterised by energy, positive and supportive involvement and a sense of efficacy and accomplishment. Burnout is not a trivial problem but an important barometer of a major social dysfunction in the workplace that says more about the conditions of their job than it does about the workers. It is therefore not only a problem of the individual worker, but involves the complex interaction between organization and employees, on personal and interpersonal level, and also of specific working conditions and the context in which the work is being done. This interaction shapes the way people see and do their work, and impacts on the well-being of the workers and the organization. Burnout is therefore not only related to negative outcomes for the individual, including depression, a sense of failure, fatigue, and loss of motivation, but also to negative outcomes for the organization, including absenteeism, turnover rates, and lowered productivity.

M.A. / Clayton (1996) cites studies of stress experienced by the elderly, such as rape (Frank et al. 1984) o catastrophic financial loss (Ganzini et al. 1990) (such as in burglary or hijacking) that have indicate( that these stresses may result in the onset of major depressive disorder and generalised anxiety disorder response is depression. This study will attempt to compare elderly persons (Group 1) having been admitted to an old age facility less than two years prior, with a matched sample of same (Group 2) having been resident a the same facility for longer than that. This subdivision into Groups 1 and 2 will be the independen variable. The dependent variables will be various psychometric measures, being the Rotter Locus o Control Test, Beck Depression Test, Wallston Health Locus of Control Test and the Simmons Self. Image Scale. Respondents will also have an erythrocyte sedimentation test performed, which is simple non-specific blood test that is also an excellent measure of overall health and concomitarr stress levels. Manipulation of the results will support or refute the detailed hypotheses as set out it the Methodology chapter. The aim of this study is to build on studies such as those of Meyerson anc Haggerty (1962) (in Ader, 1981) and Heyman (1992) by introducing the differentiating factor 01 institutionalisation and locus of control as a factor to be considered in primary health care.